


Day Two Hundred Twenty-Three || Policeman

by 365daysofsasuhina



Series: 365 Days of SasuHina 2019 [223]
Category: Naruto
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Attempted Sexual Assault, F/M, Gen, Guns, Police
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-12
Updated: 2019-08-12
Packaged: 2020-08-19 20:51:06
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,592
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20216101
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/365daysofsasuhina/pseuds/365daysofsasuhina
Summary: When Hinata runs into trouble on her way home, her night happens to be saved by an off-duty officer. And he's determined to make sure that jerk doesn't come around a second time...





	Day Two Hundred Twenty-Three || Policeman

“Ah -!”

With a crash, a small stack of dishes slips from her hand, shattering and sending her skittering backwards. Eyes widening despite the shadows beneath them, Hinata struggles to ease the jumping in her heart at the sound. Oh...oh no…

“Hinata?!”

Flinching, she turns to see her coworker fly back into the kitchen. “S...Sakura, I -”

“Whoa...are you okay?”

“...I…” Her shoulders wilt. “...y-yeah. I’m...I’m all right.”

Brows furrowing and looking unconvinced, Sakura carefully makes her way through the carnage to her friend. “...you didn’t get cut or anything, did you”

“No…”

“...Hinata, you look exhausted. You should go home.”

“But -?”

“It’s quiet. I can handle things for the last hour.” Expression set in determination, she takes Hinata’s shoulders. “You clearly need some rest. If you want, you can wait here until I finish my shift, and we’ll walk back together. But either way, you’re not working another minute tonight. Got it?”

Guilt weighs heavy. True, she’s exceedingly tired...but she needs to do her job. Sakura pulled several strings to get her this position at the diner in addition to the retail she does during the day. While the nurse-in-training has school in the daylight hours, Hinata works and tries to save up for when her friend graduates, and she’ll have to find a new place to stay without her current roommate.

Given that school didn’t exactly...work out, she has to make due with what she’s got.

“I’ll...I’ll go home.”

“You sure? It’s a bit late to be walking home alone…”

“It’s n-not too far. I’ll be all right. Just...let me clean this up, and -”

“Nuh-uh. I can handle this. It’s just some sweeping.”

“But Sakura, it was my -!”

“Go!” the rosette insists, shooing her out of the kitchen. “You better be in bed and fast asleep when I get home, got it?”

“Y...yeah.” Sheepishly grabbing her things and clocking out, Hinata leaves the diner behind, shouldering her bag and making the several block trek back on foot. Neither of them have a car at the moment, and there’s no buses that make any sensical route for them to take to and from the corner restaurant. 

Despite her exhaustion, Hinata tries to keep her wits about her. It’s dark in this part of town for the most part, and she doesn’t want to run into any trouble if she can -

“Well well...hey there little lady.”

...help it.

Stiffening, she thinks to the can of pepper spray she keeps meaning to buy, now painfully absent from her purse. Glancing over, she can barely make out a face, lit only by the smouldering end of a cigarette. It flares as the man draws a breath, removing the stick to exhale a cloud that makes her nose wrinkle. 

“Bit late to be walkin’ around alone, ain’t it…? Not very safe...you might end up runnin’ into the wrong crowd, little lady.”

“I’m just o-on my way home,” she tries to assert steadily, unable to help the nervous jump to her tone. “If you’ll excuse m-”

In a flash, he reaches out from the alley mouth, hand finding her wrist and yanking her off-kilter toward him. Tossing her until she’s backed against the building wall, he leans over her, an arm barring her escape. “Hey, now...we only just met. Don’t wanna be rude, do ya…? Can’t leave without at least sayin’ goodbye first…” His spare hand finds a grip at the dip of her waist, grin making her nauseous.

“P-please...I don’t -”

“Hey.”

Both pairs of eyes look to the street beyond. A bit silhouetted by the nearest streetlamp, another man stands haughtily just beyond the alleyway.

“...t’hell do you want, man?” the creeper asks, expression losing its greasy attempt at charm.

“I’m gonna need you to step back from the lady. Nice and slow.”

“Yeah? Says who?”

Moving aside his jacket, the stranger reveals a glinting badge, the other hand at his hip revealing a holstered pistol behind the hem. “...police. Now, for the last time...back up.”

Jerking in surprise and scowling, he considers the officer before moving, throwing Hinata at him and making a break for it down the gap between the buildings.

Stumbling, Hinata quickly finds herself in the policeman’s arms, his grip steadying but careful.

“...you all right?”

“...I-I…!”

“Here, c’mon over here where it’s a bit brighter. Hanging out in the shadows won’t make you feel any safer.” Cautiously, he guides her out into the open, a hand at the small of her back. “Are you hurt?”

“N...no. He...h-he didn’t…” Taking a shaking breath, Hinata lifts arms to loosely hold herself. “...he just...scared me.”

“Where you were headed, miss?”

“I was just w-walking home from work.”

“It’s not really a good idea to wander around alone this time of night…”

“I...u-usually my roommate comes with me, but...I had to leave early. I didn’t want to...d-didn’t want to be in the way.”

Dark brows furrow. “...I’ll take you home. What’s your name?”

“Hinata. Hinata Hyūga.”

“I’m Sasuke Uchiha, KPD. I’m glad you’re okay. Is it very far?”

“No, just two more blocks.”

“All right...we’ll keep walking.” Probably not a good idea to try to get her in a car with a stranger, cop or not. Keeping a respectable distance, Sasuke gives her an occasional glance. Clearly she’s still shaken, arms around her middle and posture hunched, expression unreadable.

Thankfully it takes little time to get back. The little duplex is dark, the other half unrented across from the girls. Noting as much, Sasuke asks, “Do you have someone you can call to come stay with you?”

“Um...n-no. But...my roommate won’t be too much longer. I’ll...I’ll be all right.”

“Are you sure?” Sasuke frowns. “...I can stay and keep an eye on things, if it would make you feel better, miss.”

“Oh, n-no - you’ve already done enough. I don’t want to -?”

“It’s no trouble.” Surely the last thing she wants to be right now is alone. At the very least...he’s some firepower and muscle to keep between herself and the street until someone else can be here with her. “Keeping people safe is my job. Even if I’m not on the clock, I still take it seriously.”

Hinata hesitates. In truth...she’d feel a lot better. But she doesn’t want to be any extra trouble. “...do you -? Can I make you some coffee…?”

“...if you’d like.”

“Would you like to come in…?”

Sasuke holds up a hand. “I don’t want to intrude. I’ll just stay here and keep an eye on things for a bit. Make sure it’s clear out here.” Like the car, he doesn’t want to make her uneasy being alone with a stranger in so confined a space.

“...o-okay.” Nibbling her lip, Hinata unlocks the door. First, she changes into a pair of baggy sweatpants and a hoodie, feeling less...exposed with something so loose on. Then she bustles about making two cups of coffee, returning with one for Sasuke as she sits on the step with her own.

She might as well keep him company.

When she returns, he’s still standing, accepting the mug with a grateful nod. “...feeling any better?”

“Maybe a little bit…” Curling up a bit, she slowly sips her coffee. Maybe not the best thing to have before bed, but she’s likely not going to sleep for a while either way. “...thanks for staying. You didn’t have to.”

“I want to,” he replies a bit bluntly, taking a swig. “I can hang around until your roommate gets back.”

...it’s then Hinata has a thought. “...um…”

“Hm?”

“Well, it’s just...we usually walk home together, so...without me there, she’ll be alone, too.”

That earns a pause. “...can you text her?”

“Mhm.”

“Tell her I’ll go pick her up when she’s done. I want both of you home safe with that asshole running around.”

A bit taken aback at his language, Hinata nevertheless does as asked. “She gets off in like twenty minutes. She works at Jerry’s, on the corner of fourteenth…?”

“I know it. You all right here for a bit?”

She nods. 

“All right. I’ll go get her. You stay here...keep your door locked, huh?”

“O-okay.” Watching him go, Hinata heads back in, doing as suggested and anxiously watching out the window. It’s not until they both return she dares to go back out. “Sakura!”

“Hinata, what the hell’s going on?”

“Hinata ran into a little trouble on her way home. I walked her back, and went to make sure you’d make it too.”

The other woman blinks. “Oh gosh...you okay, ‘nata?”

“Yeah...just a little s-spooked.”

“You two head in so I know you’re all settled for the night,” Sasuke offers. “I’ll let someone on patrol know this guy’s stalking around. Make sure no one else gets harassed.”

“...thank you,” Hinata offers softly, Sakura heading in and muttering about keeping her bat by her bed tonight. “Really, I...I appreciate it. All you did.”

“I was happy to. Just...try not to head out alone after dark again, all right?”

“I-I won’t.” In spite of herself, she gives him a brief smile, waving before heading back in.

Watching the place for a moment, Sasuke then turns to face the street, expression hardening. He  _ was _ just going for an evening stroll to clear his mind...but maybe he’ll just take another turn around the block. If trouble’s going to be lurking...well, he might as well take care of it.

**Author's Note:**

> Aaand another late night, lol
> 
> So this is actually a BIT of a rewrite of the first time I did this challenge, though before it happened to be ItaHina. This time, however, it's of course Sasuke and Hinata. A bit neat to revisit it and see what I can improve! It's shorter due to my usual time constraints, but hopefully I've improved since then lol
> 
> Buuut yeah, I better call it a night - thanks for reading!


End file.
